Texas Tech Football

Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury said all four of the team’s new junior-college defensive linemen are on campus. And he’s greedy about the number he expects to deliver.

Asked how many of the four the Red Raiders need to hit on, Kingsbury said, “I’d say all four need to play. We found out last year playing in this league, we need to be able to rotate more bodies through with these fast-tempo offenses. We weren’t, and that hurt us in the run game a bunch.

“All four of these guys are going to have to play, and play right away.”

Texas Tech’s starting duo at inside linebacker figures to shake out one of two ways: with senior Sam Eguavoen at middle linebacker and senior incoming transfer V.J. Fehoko at weak inside or with Eguavoen at weak inside and junior Micah Awe in the middle.

“It’s going to be a three-linebacker rotation regardless,” Eguavoen said. “I’m going to be playing both, circling around.”

In Tech’s scheme, the weak inside linebacker plays to the tight side of the field and the middle linebacker to the wide side, making speed and range more important from the latter.

Texas Tech and Oklahoma State battle each other every other year in Lubbock and Stillwater.

More and more, the Red Raiders and the Cowboys might be squaring off in places like Lufkin and Tyler. Oklahoma State sees East Texas as a prime recruiting territory, and Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury has made it a priority, too.

DALLAS -- Bill Snyder has coached in 15 bowl games in his last 18 seasons asKansasStatecoach, but said he’s never had a team prepare better than the Wildcats did before their 31-14 victory againstMichiganto end last season.

“I cannot recall a preparation that was as pleasing to me as the one that took place this past season,” Snyder said Tuesday at Big 12 media days.

DALLAS– Kliff Kingsbury’s watch that stirred up an internet buzz after his Monday appearance at Big 12 football media days was given to him as a gift several years ago, Tech spokesman Blayne Beal said Tuesday.

The website Deadspin posted a story Monday calling Kingsbury’s timepiece “probably fake” and suggested it was a roughly $100 replica of a limited edition watch that retails for more than $100,000.

“He’s someone that has a lot of speed and can help us immediately at running back,” Marquez said Monday at Big 12 media days. “He’s one of the fastest guys on the team since he stepped on, and he shows it.”

Not that Kliff Kingsbury ever lacked confidence to coach quarterbacks, but he’s probably only more so after what Davis Webb and Baker Mayfield did last year. As true freshmen, the two passed for 5,033 yards and 32 touchdowns between them, one being offensive freshman of the year in the Big 12 and the other offensive MVP of the Holiday Bowl.